Carmelo Anthony wrapped up his free agent tour a couple of days ago, after stops in Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles. He also met with Phil Jackson about a return to the Knicks after all other meetings had finished, and would reportedly be taking the weekend to decide where he wanted to sign for the next four or five seasons.

It was thought to be a two-team race between New York and Chicago. The Knicks could offer the most money over five years, while the Bulls could offer a chance to immediately contend for a title by adding Anthony to the roster.

But perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the meeting with the Lakers went so well that L.A. has become a real option for Anthony to consider.

Lakers have moved into serious contention on Carmelo Anthony, multiple sources tell Yahoo. “In the game now,” one source close to Melo says.

As one source in process says of Lakers bid, “They can promise max money without any (roster) moves needing to be made.” 4 years, $97M.

The Lakers and their willingness to go with a four-year max offer was intriguing at the time, because of all the non-Knicks teams pursuing Anthony, L.A. is the only one currently able to go that high. The Bulls could be up to $25 million light over the lifetime of a deal, and they would still have to make some roster decisions just to free up the money necessary to get Anthony to sign.

It’s unclear what L.A. can offer from a winning standpoint that New York can’t, at least in the immediate future. If you believe Kobe Bryant will return to a level somewhere close to the one he was able to play at before suffering his last two serious injuries, and you believe that Pau Gasol may be more likely to re-sign with Anthony committed, then yes, next season the Lakers would be in a better position to win than the Knicks.

Over the long haul, though, things become a bit murkier at best.

It seems as though New York (money) and Chicago (winning) are the two places that would make the most sense for Anthony to choose. Something about the Lakers has piqued his interest, however, and we’ll find out soon enough if Los Angeles truly has enough of an overall package to entice Anthony to sign.